Cowboy Bebop Remix Volume 3

Guest Author - Lesley Aeschliman

The Cowboy Bebop Remix Volume 3 DVD features the 11th through 14th episodes of the series. During these episodes, we see a strange mutation attacking the crew of the Bebop, Spike encounters a former comrade and must deal with the memory of a woman from his past, Faye tries to run away and encounters a "different" kind of man, and Ed plays a virtual game of chess against an old chess champion named Chessmaster Hex.

When the main menu for this DVD comes up, it's just like the menu from the previous two remix volumes. The menu is animated and interactive, but the navigation on the main menu can be a little troublesome. However, once you access the sub-menus, the navigation is a lot easier.

Just like on the previous remix DVD releases, when you access the main menu, you can choose from the following options: you can choose to play the episodes, go into the setup menu, or watch the bonus features. In the setup menu, you can choose one of the following audio options: English Stereo, Japanese Stereo, English Dolby Digital 5.1, or Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1; in this menu, you can also choose whether or not you want to see the subtitles. I definitely appreciate this layout for the setup menu better than how the setup selections were done on the original DVD pressings of these discs.

For extras, this disc includes a four minute-long interview with Cartoon Network producer Sean Akins. During the interview, he is asked about Cowboy Bebop's impact on Japanese animation, about how the show is reaching a new adult audience, as well as who is his favorite character and why. While this was a decent special feature, I do wish they could have produced a longer interview and asked some more questions. If not that, then perhaps they could have included a second interview with someone else involved with the series. I just wasn't satisfied when I finished watching the interview included on the DVD. In the extras sub-menu, there are also previews for other Bandai DVD releases: Mars Daybreak, Planetes, and Scrapped Princess. You can also find the DVD credits in this menu.

If you only want the episodes and really don't care about bonus features or remixed audio, then the original pressing of Volume 3 will be sufficient. However, if you want more bonus features, remixed audio, and a better-looking menu, then you might prefer Volume 3 Remix.

In order to write this review, I checked out a copy of this DVD through the King County Library System. My husband and I later purchased our own copy.